I was walking down Gamut Street in London, carefully avoiding the chewing gum and vomit on the pavement. It had rained last night - the flagstones shone darkly, and were ever so slightly treacherous. As such, my eyes were mostly on the ground, only occasionally stealing glances at the posters advertising last year's rock/pop concerts, at the drunks reeling by, at the people walking past me. And, of course, at the girls walking past me.
It's an exquisite little thrill, walking down the street with all your muscles feeling loose and ready, yourself feeling confident and handsome. You start with the face, taking in the eyes and nose and, naturally, the mouth, some processing segment of your brain resolving all those dimensions and co-ordinates instantaneously to tell you if this one is "pretty" or "not". Then the rove, slow or fast depending on the situation, judging the quality of the breasts, the legs, the stomach. Now back up, for your eyes to meet as you pass, a flickering glance that both of you delay so that the other looks first. When you're behind, never to meet again, maybe you glance backwards to check out her ass. Maybe you catch her doing the same.
Today was different, somehow.
I had glanced up briefly from my cautious inspection of the ground beneath my feet and I saw her. Looking at her, I took all of her in with one glance in which I saw everything with absolute detail, from the colour of her eyes to the style of her shoes. I knew I had discovered my perfect woman. She was barely shorter than me, standing, I guessed, at around 5'10. She was willowy, not just slender: her body seemed to possess some innate suppleness that it boasted about with every step. She had straight black hair that hung to just below her shoulders and was dressed in a classily sexy way - a white blouse tight enough to see her figure without being obscene, her legs clasped by black jeans, a short jacket and low heels on her shoes.
Her eyes were chocolate brown, rich and dark, her nose a line of exquisite slenderness running down to the pale rose pout of her mouth. Her breasts... how to describe them... They were neither large nor small, but bulged roundly with animal force against the thin white blouse, which showed no hint of brassiere. She met my eyes when she was still far away and that rose smear quirked in an amused smile. Somehow I held her eyes, which seemed to burn with infernal fire. As we walked towards each other, every step seemed to tighten a vise on my heart and time seemed to slow. Nearer now, and I could make out the unblemished texture of her skin and then she was past me and my perfect girl was no more than a figment that might have disappeared behind my back.
I couldn't do it. I spun round, ready to dash after her, my mind desperately casting about for anything I could say. She was standing still, leaning one slender arm against the top of a low wall, waiting for me. That lambent fire was still in her eyes and, though she was carelessly smiling, the look she gave me was concentrated lust. I didn't say anything, just walked towards her and she took my hand and she led me.
As I followed, I looked - her ass was magnificent, a flawless curved orb perched on her body. She turned and spoke to me and her voice was deep and almost stern.
"Think carefully. Are you sure you want to do this?"
I laughed and told her there was nothing I wanted more. Her eyes seemed to flare and she laughed too.
"Good... good."
Her voice was softer now, almost accentless. It was a voice for pillow talk and dirty talk, lover's words and cheater's demands. Listening to her, she could be English or Mongolian, French or Chinese. It was a powerful voice, it would carry far without needing to shout, and it commanded obedience as if from long acclimatisation to being obeyed.
She led me quickly to an alley I had not even known existed on this street I had crossed countless times. It was cobbled, and the ground was marked by a grid tracery of yesterday's rain. Small rough flowers grew in some of the cobbles, through the alley held no discernible scent.